Agricultural impact on agricultural landscapes of the Rostov Region

The paper discusses various aspects of the modern agricultural load on the agricultural landscapes of the Rostov Region. The work is based on the generalization and analysis of environmental reporting and land statistics. The dynamics of the cultivated areas of sunflower and perennial grasses, the introduction of organic fertilizers and the content of humus in the soil over the past 60 years are considered. As a result, such negative aspects of regional agrarian nature management were identified as: loss of natural landscapes, a high proportion of arable land; transformation of the structure of cultivated areas, a shortage of forests, a small area of forest plantations on arable land. The author has found that many indicators of agrogenic load do not correspond to the optimal and maximum permissible values. Thus, sowing of perennial grasses is 1,8% of the arable land at a rate of 25–30%; the area of the field protection belts is 3,8% at a rate of 5–6%; application of organic fertilizers is 25 times less than the standard. Livestock indicators and grazing pressure, which dropped sharply in the 1980s, are currently not reaching the maximum permissible environmental parameters. The humus content in the soil over the past 60 years has decreased from 4,1% to 3,2%. To compensate for the loss of humus, it is necessary to adjust the structure of sown areas: to expand the cultivation area of perennial grasses and reduce the land occupied by sunflower.